Author Archives: Fenster

Unknown's avatar

About Fenster

Gainfully employed for thirty years, including as one of those high paid college administrators faculty complain about. Earned Ph.D. late in life and converted to the faculty side. Those damn administrators are ruining everything.

Tempest in a Teapot?

Fenster writes: ere is a video on the subject of tea.  Oh, and sex, too, since they go together like love and marriage.  Check it out.

Posted in Education | 4 Comments

Juxtaposin’: Cultural Appropriation Alert!

Fenster writes: Perhaps you thought James Brown’s famous disrobing-and-falling-down routine was sui generis?  Maybe maybe not.

Posted in Music | Tagged | 5 Comments

Free College?

Fenster writes: Perhaps as punishment for having been a manager for so long, or maybe simply as a form of cosmic social justice, I find myself at a relatively advanced age a union member.  I got to be a faculty … Continue reading

Posted in Education | Leave a comment

Delayed Reaction X 2

Fenster writes: The Boston Globe front page tells two tales that, to me at least, reveal something about delayed reactions on the part of institutions. People are creatures of habit, and prone to both cognitive error and poor judgment of … Continue reading

Posted in Education | Leave a comment

Archaeology at the Y

Fenster writes: You can tell things about your surroundings by taking a closer look at objects you’d ordinarily overlook.  I was at my local YMCA today, hanging in the lounge waiting for the end of my wife’s workout rather than … Continue reading

Posted in Personal reflections | 6 Comments

Classic Soul

Fenster writes: My kids don’t like it when I tell them I don’t like hip hop music.  They think if I don’t like hip hop I don’t like black music and that I am acting racist.  I am bothered by … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Linkages

Fenster writes: Fenster agrees a lot with what Mickey Kaus has to say.  In this case, though he has no idea who Fenster is, it is Mickey Kaus who agrees with Fenster on the worrisome possibility of an emerging Downton Economy. The estimable Alex … Continue reading

Posted in Linkathons | 1 Comment

Taking Triggers Seriously

Fenster writes: There are some ideas so stupid only a college president could endorse them.  At least that’s the impression given by reading this recent nearly-three-cheer defense of trigger warnings and microaggession bans on campus penned by two college presidents. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Streetcar Suburb Summer

Fenster writes: Is it possible for planners to create a community with as much charm and character as one that evolved organically over time?  Heck, I suppose it might be possible.  Given enough bandwidth, time and creativity, and with possibly great … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture | Tagged | 12 Comments

The Joys and Miseries of Kitchen Renovation

Fenster writes: Mostly miseries.  Six weeks of displacement.  The old kitchen was crammed full of food and gadgets, now taking up space in the living room.  Dining room is a staging area and we are spending most of the time … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments